How to Save a Life
by Roseyiabeth
Summary: Being stuck in the past isn't as bad as it seems, it is much worse. Being sent to save the future, Hermione must stop the Dark Lord. Let's hope she can deal with a deranged Head Boy and an annoying childhood nemesis. Only Merlin knows how long she can stand it. This is an AU story that contains TomRiddlexHermione and DracoxHermione pairing! It also contains dark content!
1. Prologue

**A/N: This story is going to be in an Alternate Universe. I'm going to try my best to stay within the facts of the Harry Potter Universe that the wonderful JKR made for us, but, many things are going to change. Hey, what can you expect? It is a time-travel story after all…. **

**Disclaimer: Most of all the characters in this story belong to JKR. I made up a few myself but still, the Harry Potter Universe belongs to her. I only claim the plot and other made up things in this story.**

**Warning: This story will contain dark content. Read at your own risk! (Insert danger sign here) I also don't have a beta for this story yet, so please be lenient with any grammar mistakes. I apologize on my part for anything that sounds American. I am also open to suggestions and **_**constructive **_**criticism.**

**Enjoy!**

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**Prologue:**

The music was playing while Hermione and Ron were swaying around the dance floor. Her head was on his left shoulder as they slow danced. She was happy and content where she was, wishing she could stay like this forever.

They were at Bill and Fleur's wedding, which took place outside the Burrow in a tent. The wedding ceremony had just finished earlier and now the after party had started. Everyone was enjoying the party, socializing and dancing. It seemed like nothing could go wrong.

This was the third song that they had danced together. As the song finished, Hermione took her head of his shoulder and they stood there for a while looking at each other's eyes. After a couple of seconds, Ron broke the silence.

"Care for a drink Mione?"

Hermione smiled and nodded. She let go off his arms so he could go get the drinks. She pointed at the table where Harry, who was disguised as Uncle Barney, was sitting at to show that they were going to sit there. Ron nodded and kissed her on the cheek. Then he headed off to get the drinks.

Hermione walked off the dance floor holding a hand to her cheeks. She was blushing as she walked towards Harry's table. _Yes! Things are finally going great for us two! He even kissed me on the cheek! _

Just as she reached his table, everything went dark. The atmosphere was pitch black as she looked around worriedly, hoping everything was okay. _Please don't let it be anything bad_. She suddenly saw the patronus of Kingsley Shacklebolt making its way to the center of the tent. Her heart dropped at the words that it said.

"The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming."

The next 30 seconds or so went by fast. Hermione rushed to reach Harry but she couldn't find him in the dark. She panicked. Suddenly Death Eaters appeared. The lights went on again and Hermione found Harry. She found his hand and took it. They rushed through the crowd trying to find Ron.

"Where is Ron?" Harry asked.

"He went to get butterbeers for us. I think he should be by the food." She shouted over the commotion. She hoped he was by the snack table. There was a lingering feeling of doubt in her chest. He probably went to find them as soon as it went dark. _I hope he didn't run off._

When they got there, she couldn't find Ron. She started shaking.

"Ron…. RON!" Hermione called out. She still couldn't spot him anywhere in the panicking crowd. She needed to get them away from the place.

By now, some witches and wizards had disapparated away from the scene. The Death Eaters had started casting spells and curses at everyone. Harry's disguise had worn off by then and disappeared. A Death Eater spotted them. He threw a curse that blasted them away from each other.

"I found him! I found Potter! Call the Dark Lord here, quickly!"

After getting hit by the curse, she had hit the opposite wall away from Harry. Hermione coughed and sputtered. She quickly got up from the ground and dusted the debris off herself. She had to find Ron and Harry.

As she ran through the crowd, a few spells were cast here and there. Some were directed at her and some weren't. She threw up shields and stunners, trying to help the people around her. Though she did a decent job protecting herself, she was still hit with a couple of dark curses. It left her bleeding and slightly injured.

_Where is Harry? Where's Ron? Why here, why now? _She kept on running, desperately looking through the crowd. Suddenly, she stopped as she saw the scene in front of her.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" A Death Eater had struck Ginny right in the chest, where her heart was. She swiftly fell down, landing with a soft thump on the ground.

"NOOOOOO!" Ron screamed as he ran towards his younger sister. He kneeled there shaking her back and forth. Alas, he sat there, crying, because he couldn't do anything to save her.

The Death Eater that killed Ginny saw Ron and smirked. He lifted his wand and laughed evilly. Hermione regained her senses and immediately rushed towards Ron. _He can't die. Definitely not._

Just as she was running, she sent a stunner at the Death Eater that was aiming for Ron. She didn't notice however, that some other Death Eater had blocked her spell. As she reached Ron, she called out to him.

"Ron! Get up! We need to find Harry and go!" Hermione worriedly panted out.

Ron looked her way. "Mione?" He began to get up.

As soon as he said this, something hit him on his back. He doubled over and fell down next to Ginny. Hermione gave out a cry of disbelief. The Death Eater had hit Ron. He cackled and turned away from the scene, strutting off with confidence.

_How dare he walk away unharmed?_

Angrily, Hermione struck the killing curse at the Death Eater. As soon as he heard her say the words, he turned around with a look of surprise. But he had no time to react. He fell to the ground with a thud. A look of surprise was still plastered on his face.

When she reached Ron, he was still barely breathing. She knelt to the ground, gathering him in her arms.

"Ron, I need you to stay alive. _Please,_ don't leave me. Harry needs you. _I_ need you. Ron…. stay awake!"

_We still have so much to do, I still have so much to tell you!_

She cried as she tried to search for the area he had been hit. She finally found the spot, but she didn't know what curse he was hit with. She tried all the healing spells she knew, trying to heal him as fast as she could. But nothing seemed to work. _Why is nothing working? I have to save Ron! How do I not know what hit him? I am called the brightest witch of our generation for a reason. Why can't I do anything? _

"Mione… stop…." Ron put a hand on her shoulder, signaling to her that it was useless. He cupped a hand over her face as he was trying to memorize all her features.

Hermione held on to his hand, uselessly hoping that he would be alright. By then, she was shedding rivers out of her eyes. _Please don't leave me Ron…. _

Ron used his hands to wipe her tears away from her face. "Shhhhhh, Mione, please don't cry. Promise me you will live on without me, promise me you will help defeat Voldemort. Don't let my death become a waste. Protect our friends and family, alright? Come out of this war alive, _okay?"_

Hermione shook her head. _No, not without you. _She cried even more.

Ron then used all the last strength he could muster up to sit up in her lap and kiss her. It was a chaste kiss on the lips, showing regret that there couldn't be more. Giving her a final farewell, he looked into her eyes and whispered,

"I love you Hermione."

With these last words, he slumped into her shoulders and went cold. Realization hit her, she would never be able to truly date Ron. She would never marry him. She would never be able to fulfill her fantasy of having a family with him. Her whole image of her future was shattered. With this realization, she held on to him and cried, rocking him back and forth.

"RON! Please don't go! I need you here, I haven't even told you my feelings! You can't leave like this! You prick, I haven't even said _I love you_ yet! This isn't fair… don't you dare go Ronald Weasley!"

She sat there for a minute, trying to take it all in. Her heart dropped as she finally acknowledged what just happened.

_He's gone. He's never coming back._

She sniffled and tried to contain her tears as she wiped her shed ones away. She got up and picked up her wand.

_I'm tired of all these loses. All just because of a psychopath dark wizard. If Harry can't handle him alone, I will go and help defeat him myself. Even if it means sacrificing myself. _

Anger coursed through her as she went through the now shrunken crowd. Mostly all the guests had either been killed, knocked unconscious, or they had dissaparated away. There were a few Death Eaters left, and they were battling the few remaining, conscious people.

As she stormed around, she stepped over dead bodies and kicked a few of the Death Eater's bodies out of the way. There was an air of loose, powerful, free magic that was crackling around her in the air. As some Death Eaters tried to attack her, she just put up a shield and sent stunners that knocked out all of them.

By the time she found Harry, he was lifeless on the ground from the killing curse that was sent by Voldemort himself. She stood there.

_No. This can't be. He's not supposed to be dead! The prophecy said he would defeat Voldemort! What is he doing on the ground for Merlin's sake?_

Voldemort cackled evilly. He had just defeated Harry Potter himself! _And they thought that a mere teenage boy would defeat him. Ha! How wrong they were. _He smirked and turned to the crowd that gathered around the scene.

"Do you see this?" he drawled, "The boy who lived is now dead! No one can defeat me! Look at this, Harry Potter, laying on the ground, gone! Who wants to try to defy me now?" he spat out.

Everyone gathered around in a circle around Voldemort and Harry. They all wanted to see if it was real. There were mixed expressions on everyone's faces. Most Death Eater's had merry expressions on their faces. They began rejoicing and cheering in the crowd. Members of the Order just stood there dumbfounded and heartbroken. Their hopes were hanging on a cliff.

Hermione was stunned. To say she was angry was an understatement. She was _fuming_ with rage. _How dare he try to take over what is not his. Just because he killed a mere teenager doesn't mean he has won. I still haven't given up. I'll be damned if he tries to rule over me. _

She took a deep breath. _Okay Hermione, fight with what you got. This is for Ron, Harry, Ginny, and everyone else that fought for this cause._

To everyone's surprise, Hermione stepped out of the crowd while casting a silent _Expelliarmus_ at Voldemort. Caught by surprise, he was disarmed by her. She caught his wand in her hand and broke it.

The rage pulsing through her was even greater than before. She began walking slowly towards Voldemort. Her posture was held with confidence and her face showed no signs of backing down.

She took her first step.

Then her second.

Then her third.

Each with precise precision that echoed throughout the crowd.

She lifted her chin up. Bravely, with no fault in her voice, she said the next two words.

"I do."

Voldemort looked at her in surprise. How could such a witch exert so much power? The sight of her gaze was a bit unnerving, even to him. But he didn't let that show. Instead he calmly began talking.

"And who are you? I haven't seen you before."

She smirked. "Why, I am the very witch that has helped aid Harry Potter against you all these years. Excited to see me?"

Voldemort looked her up and down. "Why yes I am, Ms. Granger is it? A pity such intelligence is wasted upon a mere _mudblood._"

Hermione scoffed in disbelief. She sneered. "I don't think you should be saying anything about my parentage. It's not like yours was any better. At least mine accepted me. Isn't that right, _Tom_?"

Voldemort's eye twitched a little. _How did the young witch know this? _He clenched his fists but kept his composure. "A little feisty are we now? Let's not get away with what is at hand. I seem to recall just killing your precious Harry Potter. All of your friends are dead. Seems like your efforts had gone to waste, haven't they?"

Hermione shook her head. "It's over when I die." She raised her wand and stared into Voldemort's emotionless, cold, red eyes. Voldemort stared right back into her persistent, burning, brown ones that showed her raging emotions. _Let's hope that he isn't as powerful without his wand as he was with it. _

Voldemort made a cold grin. "Very well, have it your way." He raised his hand and waved it in the air. A wall of fiendfire surrounded them, blocking everyone else away from the circle. He then waved it again and a flash of orange came flashing at her.

Hermione barely escaped the curse. She started breathing really hard. _Bloody hell! He is doing non-verbal magic even while being wandless. Can this day get any worse? How am I going to defeat him when I don't even know what he is sending at me?_

As if sensing her predicament, he sent another curse at her. She threw up a shield as fast as she could. The spell hit her shield and almost broke it.

Hermione looked down and cursed. _Focus, Hermione. Focus. Pay attention to his hand movements. They might indicate which spell he is using. _She looked up and saw his hand in a slashing movement. Purple came at her. Her eyes widened. _That was Dolohov's curse!_

Quickly she raised her wand and produced a stronger shield charm. The curse hit her shield and knocked her a little off her feet.

"Well done, Ms. Granger. That was a wonderful shield you put up. No attacking, huh? I wonder if you will be able to protect yourself for so long."

He flicked his hand and the trees around them tore from the ground. With another flick, their leaves and branches started to burn. He then pointed his hand towards her and the trees went flying the path he had directed for them.

_So he thinks I only know how to throw up shields and harmless charms? Let's show him what you got. _Determined, Hermione waved her wand and the trees went to ashes. She then cast a dark curse she learned from a book at him. It shot a nuclear, neon yellow out of her wand and raced towards Voldemort. He barely protected himself from the curse. After he shot up the shield, he looked at her impressed. She smirked at him.

"So, little Miss Mudblood here knows a few dark curses does she? Alright, I guess it's no more playing nice now. Let the real duel begin."

They threw a few curses back forth, throwing up shields occasionally. The crowd could barely see through the fire, but through the times that they did, they saw a powerful witch and wizard dueling, both neither losing nor winning. They stood there in awe. They never thought Voldemort would be an equal match with a teenage girl. The Death Eaters stood there silently, unsure if their master would win. The members of the Order crossed their fingers, putting the rest of their hope in a new person.

Hermione was getting worn out by then. Right now, it was a tie. She was thinking of how she could gain the upper hand and beat him. She suddenly got an idea. She was going to use a new spell she created in secret. It was a stunner that was cast in a way similar to a boomerang. It was meant to always meet its target. _Okay Hermione, just cast the spell and start defending yourself with shields. Voldemort will be too busy casting offensive spells to put up a shield in time. Let's hope this _works.

Hermione took a breath and cast the spell. It shot out an electric red light and zipped past Voldemort. He sneered.

"Lost your touch have you? It didn't even come close to me."

He began throwing his offensive curses again. Hermione was a bit scared. Scratch that, she was frightened. _What if that spell didn't work? Oh Merlin, you're in trouble if it doesn't. _She threw up shields and hoped her spell worked.

Voldemort kept casting spells with no mercy. He was laughing evilly. "Throwing up shields again, eh? Too scared to attack me now? Maybe you should just put down your shield and give up. You are going to d…."

Voldemort was struck with her stunner. He went crashing to the ground with a gasp. His wall of fire started to dim down. Hermione triumphantly walked up to him and pointed her wand at him. There was no remorse in her eyes. This was the man that caused her friends' deaths.

"Scared am I? Maybe you should be the one afraid Voldemort."

Hermione looked at Voldemort. He was in rage but couldn't move due to being stunned. She looked into his angry, blood red eyes. There was promise of demise if he got out of her spell. She just smiled innocently at him.

"What's wrong Tom? Got defeated by a mere teenage girl? Too bad you can't do anything."

She then cast a _Crucio _at him. He was going to regret starting this war. He was going to regret causing the deaths of everyone dragged into this. _This is for Harry, for Ron, for Ginny. This is for the Order! Take this you slimy bastard!_

Voldemort writhed on the ground. He was in pain. It felt like a thousand knifes slicing him at once, like he was swimming in a pool with millions of needles. _So this is what it feels like. _He would kill that girl when he got out.

By now, it has already been five minutes since he was under the curse. Hermione was starting to get exhausted from casting the spell. She was going to kill him now.

"I would love to torture you into insanity but it seems like you're already crazy. I guess I'll just kill you since you seem to be afraid of that. Any last words?"

Voldemort started laughing in his torture. "You will never get rid of me you stupid girl." he gritted out.

Hermione smirked._ Did he think I didn't know about his horcruxes? I'll get rid of them after I get rid of him._

"On the contrary _Voldie,_ I think you will be pleased to know that you're going to be long gone and never coming back. I'll get rid of your body first and then destroy all of your petty horcruxes."

Voldemort's eyes opened in shock. _The girl knows about my horcruxes! How can this be? _He panicked. "No! That can't be!"

Hermione lifted her wand and recited the words to the killing curse. The Order watched in anticipation. The Death Eaters all paled. Their master was about to die. What would happen to them?

"Avada Kedav….."

"Crucio!"

Hermione was struck down by Bellatrix. She was writhing on the ground as Voldemort recovered. The Order then paled as the Death Eaters cheered. Voldemort finally got up and walked up to Hermione. He grabbed her wand from her hands and started toying with it while circling around her.

"My, oh my. Look at this. You're where you belong Miss Granger. Laying down, at my _feet. _This is where a mudblood belongs in this world. I admit, I thought you would've defeated me earlier. Imagine me making a mistake twice by underestimating a mere _child. _You know what they say-fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Too bad your plan didn't work. Bellatrix, release your curse."

Bellatrix lifted her curse. Hermione lied there panting heavily. Voldemort continued circling her, twirling her wand. The members of the Order shook their heads. Their hope had slipped of the cliff again. This time it was hanging on a mere branch.

"Such a shame such talent will be wasted." he drawled. "I would love to have someone like you in my ranks. Unfortunately, I do not take kindly on those who try to _kill _me." he hissed. He broke her wand with a snap.

"Do whatever you want. I would've never joined you anyways. Just kill me. Unlike you, I'm not afraid of death." Hermione harshly panted.

Voldemort laughed out loud. "It would be my pleasure. Avada Kedav…"

"STOP!"

Everyone's heads turned to a teenaged boy. He had green eyes and dark brown, messy hair. There was a lightning scar on his forehead. Everyone stared in shock. It couldn't be. Harry Potter was dead!

Voldemort growled. _How is this boy still alive? This was his second time being struck with the killing curse! Was he invincible to it or something?_

"Potter!" Voldemort spat out. "What are you doing boy? No matter, you are here just in time to see your precious mudblood die. Say goodbye!"

"You aren't going to kill her Voldemort. If you do, you're going through me first."

"Fine then. I guess it won't make a difference. You can die next to your mudblood whore!"

Voldemort cast his killing curse while Harry cast his _Expelliarmus. _The two spells hit each other in the middle of the field. Each side was trying to push their spell towards the other. Hermione regained her senses and got up.

"Harry! Let me help you!"

Harry kept looking at Voldemort. "Hermione, don't you dare come close. You're going to get hurt."

Hermione ignored Harry and grabbed a nearby wand laying on the ground. She ran up to the two and started casting curses at Voldemort.

Voldemort let out a growl, ended the curse and cast a shield. The two started throwing more curses at him.

"Hermione! I told you to stay away!"

"You know I wouldn't Harry. I'm going to help you defeat him."

"You're a Griffindor through and through. You know that?"

They continued throwing curses at Voldemort. Voldemort began throwing curses back at them too. This went on for a couple minutes.

Soon, the duel between the three ended with an _Avada Kedavra. _Voldemort had cast it towards Hermione. She didn't see it coming and turned her head.

"HERMIONE! LOOK OUT!"

Harry ran towards her and turned her away from the curse. He was hugging her tightly. Just as he did that, the curse hit him right on his back.

Hermione was shocked. Harry was holding her in his arms. He had just went limp and was starting to slip from his grasp. She started holding him up, but he was too heavy. She kneeled down, trying to keep him upright. She shook him hard.

"Harry? HARRY!"

She cried in his shoulder. Harry had just left her again. She had this feeling this was his last time ever coming back to life. No one was there for her anymore. She kept holding on to him.

The Death Eaters rejoiced and cheered again. They laughed mercilessly. Voldemort had won, just as they thought he would. They spat at the mudblood kneeling on the ground holding Harry Potter. Hermione didn't react though. She let them. She just held Harry in her arms and cried.

"Looks like all your hopes are gone now. Don't worry. All the rest of your Order members are going to die after you. You can meet them in whatever afterlife you will have soon. Such a fool. Sacrificing himself did no good. I still kill you either way. Good-bye _mudblood._" Voldemort hissed. He lifted his hand and sent the Killing Curse at Hermione.

Hermione closed her eyes. She would join her friends in death. She couldn't wait to reunite with Ron. _Perhaps it is better this way, Ron. I'm sorry I didn't keep the promise. I tried. I'm going to meet you soon. _Just as the spell hit her, she opened her eyes. She felt at peace. She saw a blinding white light that appeared around her body. _What is this? Is this what it's like to be in Heaven?_ She smiled. W_ait for me guys._ That's all she remembered before blacking out.

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Hermione woke up in a dark alley. She got up and looked around. _Am I in heaven?_ She felt skeptical. She was sitting on a grimy pavement and the walls were missing bricks. The smell of garbage was disgusting.

Hermione panicked. She felt all around and pinched herself. She winced. _Ouch! That hurt! _She looked down at herself and her heart dropped. She saw blood and cuts all over her body. She suddenly felt pain in her leg. _I'm not dead…._

She put a hand on the wall to support herself as she walked out of the alley. As she neared the opening, she saw a street, crowded with people. The road was filled with cars as they passed by. Her eyes opened wide. _This is muggle London… How can this be?_

She continued supporting herself as she limped out of the alley. As she dragged herself on the sidewalk, she looked around. It was nighttime and there were lights everywhere. She caught sight of the weird glances she was receiving. _Everyone is staring at me. Do I look that bad? _She continued dragging herself with the walls and windows supporting her. She left a trail of blood behind her. She was bleeding badly.

No one bothered her as she continued limping. They looked too afraid. She turned the corner and spotted an empty street. _Strange… Why isn't this street busy? _She decided to go into it. _It's not like I'm going to be better off in a crowd anyways. No one is bothering to help. Might as well die without people staring at me._

She got on the street and spotted a light far ahead. She decided to follow it. It led to a private road. She started walking on the road, barely breathing. By now, she was deathly pale, too much blood was lost. Her legs hurt from exhaustion. Her body began to start its process of shutting down. She saw the light from earlier lead her to a huge gate.

When she reached the gate, it somehow was already open. She limped in, walking down the path that led to a door. As she walked up the stairs, she fell and landed right at the doorstep. She could barely feel herself, let alone think. So she laid there.

Just as she almost slipped into unconsciousness, she thought she saw a mysterious figure come near her.

She would've never thought that this person would change her life forever.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the original characters that came with it. I only own the plot and the made up characters that are in this story.**

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**Chapter One**

_**August 8, 1997**_

Hermione woke up to a different surrounding. She quickly sat up and examined the room. _Where am I? _

The room was ornately decorated from top to bottom. All the furniture looked like they took a lifetime to be crafted. The bed she was laying on was huge, with comfy white, silk sheets that were edged with embroidered lace. The walls were ivory with a damask patterned wallpaper. The floors were a rich, dark mahogany that contrasted wonderfully with all the light fabrics in the room.

Her eyes opened wide. She tried rubbing them several times to see if she was dreaming. _How did I get in this room?_

Hermione ruffled her hair and got out of the bed. She found herself all cleaned up and in a new set of comfy pajamas. Her wounds were all healed and not a scar from any of the curses could be found. _Who healed me? _

Hermione walked around the room and examined everything. _How did I end up here? This room is way too unrealistic for my liking. Perhaps I did die and went to Heaven? _

She suddenly heard a knock on the door. She whipped her head around and saw the door being opened. In came a lady with long, golden blonde hair and striking blue-gray eyes. She was a bit shorter then Hermione, but that didn't take away from her striking appearance. She intrigued her.

"I see you are out of bed. Took you long enough, it has been a week since you came here and you haven't even seen the whole place yet! Come dear, let's get you some breakfast. You must be starving."

Hermione suddenly felt her stomach growl. _Maybe I am a bit hungry. Who is this lady? Should I trust her? _She clutched her stomach and decided to carefully follow the mysterious lady. As they walked through the halls, Hermione looked around in awe. The halls were just as grand as the room she was in earlier. She wondered how much time and effort was put into all of this interior design.

They had finally reached the dining area after several rooms. On the huge table was a bunch of plates with food on them. Hermione's mouth watered. The lady scooted a chair out and patted the seat. Hermione quickly sat down and looked at the food.

"Go ahead and eat my dear. You must be starving, I don't blame you. You can ask me any questions you would like."

_It's probably not poisoned, why would she save me to kill me? _Hermione picked up a fork and started eating off her plate. She bit into a piece of sausage and savored the taste. _Mmmmmm…, how can food be this good? _She kept on gulfing down the food.

After she started getting full, she lifted her head and stared the woman in front of her. She could finally think now that her stomach was satisfied. _Who is this woman? Why did she help me? Where am I?_

The woman smiled and chuckled. "You are probably wondering who I am."

Hermione nodded. The woman then got up from the seat in front of her and raised a gesture to Hermione.

"Come my dear, I will explain everything to you on the way to the library. You like books don't you?"

Hermione got up and started to walk down the halls with the lady. After a couple doors down, she started to talk to her.

"So, who are you?" Hermione cautiously inquired.

The lady smiled a bit and then looked at her. "Call me Gwendolyn my dear. It's a real pleasure to meet you Hermione."

_What an interesting name…. I wonder where I heard of it before… she looks familiar too….. _Hermione began to get curious.

"How did you know my name?"

Gwendolyn just shook her head and chuckled. She came to a huge door and pulled the handles open.

"My dear, your name is everywhere on the news. I must say, you left quite the impact during that duel. Let's just say you're the top most wanted to be captured. Here, take a look at today's news."

Gwendolyn picked up a newspaper off a small table and handed it to Hermione. Hermione looked at the front page. The top headline was: _**Granger Still at Large**_. Accompanied with that title was a picture of her and a wanted sign. Hermione winced. Voldemort must be really angry at her.

She looked up from the newspaper and hesitatingly started questioning the lady.

"Why aren't you turning me in to Voldemort?"

Gwendolyn just smiled and sat down on an ivory couch.

"Hermione, if I wanted to turn you in, I would've done it a while ago. Besides, I didn't save you for nothing."

Hermione sat down on a seat next to the couch. She put down the newspaper and scooted into the chair.

"How did you save me? Why did you save me?

"I transported you into muggle London before Voldemort cast the Killing Curse on you. I created the light that led you to my home." Gwendolyn looked into her eyes. "Hermione, I want to help you defeat Voldemort."

_So that was what that weird light was. I guess it wasn't a dream. _Hermione was interested. _Why does she want to help? Who is she to just come in now? Should I trust her?_

"Why do you want to help me? What would you get out of this?"

Gwendolyn leaned back on the couch. She crossed her legs and looked at her again.

"I want to help get rid of some evil in the world. Nothing will be safe if he continues ruling. I see potential in you Hermione. Let me aid you on your way to defeating him."

Hermione sat there and thought a bit. _What can this lady actually do for me? She looks like she is loaded but that doesn't mean anything. Wealth can't beat Voldemort. _Hermione looked around the room. She was amazed._ She does have a lot of books though. They must have tons of information. Has she read all of them?_ She got up and went to a bookshelf.

"You seem confident enough to teach me. Why can't you go defeat him yourself?"

Gwendolyn sadly shook her head.

"I'm afraid that's beyond my abilities. Plus, I saw you at that battle. I know you want to be the one to defeat him. Let me teach you."

Hermione lifted a book of the shelf. She started leafing through the pages. _Should I join her? I don't even know her though. Should I try to defeat him on my own? Maybe there are some people left from the Order waiting for me._

"Is there anybody left from the battle?"

Gwendolyn gave her a pitying look. She got up and walked over towards Hermione. She then put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm afraid there is no one I know of alive that is on our side. Everyone is gone. They are either dead or switched to the other side."

Hermione dropped the book. She was shocked. _So I'm all alone? Why couldn't I go along with them? Everyone I love is gone while I'm the only one left._

Gwendolyn led Hermione back to the couch and sat her down. She sat down next to her and started patting her back.

"Voldemort needs to be stopped. I could help you save the wizarding world."

Hermione pushed Gwendolyn's arm away. She was choking back her tears. _I can't believe everyone is gone! What can I save anymore? All that is left is evil! There is nothing that can be saved."_

"Hermione…"

"NO! Get away from me! What is there left to save? All my friends are dead. Just leave me alone!"

"Hermione, please listen to me. There are other wizards around the world too. What will happen if they are taken over by Voldemort? Britain is not the only place where wizards live. Do you think they want to be taken over by evil?"

"Let them defend themselves. I had enough! I'm going to go find my parents and never look back again. We are going to go someplace far from here."

"Hermione, you can't leave!"

Hermione got up from the couch and looked at Gwendolyn.

"Watch me."

She stormed out of the room and started walking down the halls. Gwendolyn got up and started rushing towards her.

"Hermione! Stop! Don't leave, you have to help us! Please stop and think about this, huh? You would be saving millions of people!"

She got to a grand staircase and started to walk down it. She saw the doors to the entrance. Gwendolyn stopped at the top of the stairs.

"Hermione, get back here. You're making a huge mistake!"

Hermione whipped her head around.

"I'm making a huge mistake? I don't think I am. I'm leaving this world and living with my parents. I'm pretty sure I'll be happier that way then living here."

She rushed to the door and put her hands on the handle. Gwendolyn ran down the stairs and to her. She desperately tugged on her arm.

"It's not possible. You can't do that!"

Hermione stopped and looked back.

"And pray tell, why can't I?

Gwendolyn looked at her and hesitated. She looked like she had something she left out earlier in the conversation. Hermione looked into her eyes. There was that pitying look again. Dread filled her. _No… this isn't what I think it is. _Hermione shook Gwendolyn.

"Why can't I go to my parents? Tell me!"

Gwendolyn slowly put her hands on Hermione's shoulders.

"Your parents are gone Hermione. Voldemort and his men tracked them down and killed them. They were trying to find you."

Tears filled Hermione's eyes. _No, this can't be! I cast a memory charm on them! They shouldn't have been tracked down. _Her arms fell limp to her sides. She fell to the ground on her knees.

"Hermione…."

"NOOO! SHUT UP! I don't want to hear anymore…"

Hermione grabbed her hair and tried to pull it out. The pain she was feeling was worse than the Cruciatus curse. Her heart painfully rang in her chest. _My parents are dead. My friends are dead. This world is truly a living hell. _Tears ran out her eyes and formed an ocean on the ground.

Gwendolyn knelt down next Hermione and put her arms around her._ I can't imagine what she must be going through_.She pulled Hermione up and with her arms around Hermione, she led her back to her room. She brought Hermione to her bed and tucked the crying girl in.

"It's going to be okay darling. I promise I will guide and protect you."

* * *

_**One Year Late**_**r….**

Hermione woke up from her sleep. She lifted herself of the bed and went to the bathroom. She took a shower and got ready for the day. She then walked out of her room and to the dueling room.

It had been a year since she had come here. In the beginning, she could hardly move a muscle out of her bed. It took her weeks to get used to the idea that her friends and family were gone. It wasn't until Gwendolyn had forced her out of bed one day that she started to return back to the living.

Gwendolyn had been nothing but kind to Hermione during her stay. She provided exceptional food, clothing, and books for her. Hermione had spent the first few months living in the library. She had access to basically everything of every possible subject anyone could think of. She had many times asked Gwendolyn how she had come to gather all these books. Gwendolyn would just smile and change the subject.

This frustrated Hermione to no end. _How does she know all of this knowledge? How is she so powerful? How old is she? _She wanted answers. But every time she asked Gwendolyn a question about her, all she would do was avoid the subject. This gave Hermione many suspicions, but in the end, she would just brush them off. _I'll find out another day. She probably can't talk about it just yet._

Hermione had begun her training about a couple months ago. Gwendolyn had taught her the basics of nonverbal and wandless magic. She had practiced nonstop for 3 months before she actually could get used to it. When she finally mastered it, Gwendolyn made her study the art of creating spells and bigger, darker forms of dark magic. She was confident by now that she could easily hold her own in a duel with Voldemort now.

Hermione had an assignment due today. Gwendolyn assigned it to her a week ago. She was supposed to master using a wand. Hermione laughed to herself._ A year ago, I would've found this task stupid and useless. Who knew that after being taught how do wandless magic, it would take some time to get used to a wand again?_

Hermione pulled out her new wand. It still felt very weird holding a wand. She hadn't used one since her last one was destroyed by Voldemort. This wand had wood that was almost as dark as black. The handle was made of fine crystal and there were intricate carvings on the wand. It definitely looked more elegant then her last wand. She was surprised that it had chosen her as its master. It made her wonder how Gwendolyn knew that this wand would chose her.

Hermione started to cast spells out of her wand. She remembered the instructions Gwendolyn gave her:

_"The wand knows its master Hermione. You don't need to yell out what spell you need to cast. If you focus in yourself, your wand will know what you want."_

She continued casting curses at the dummies Gwendolyn had created for her. Unlike regular dummies however, these could move around and attack her with spells also. They were tough to overcome, but not as tough as Voldemort or Gwendolyn. They were merely practice for her to improve her skills.

Hermione had finally gotten rid of one dummy so far. There were two left.

"_Don't lose yourself in battle. Focus, don't depend on spells to win a fight. Depend on your wit. A witch or wizard doesn't always win even with the best spells in their knowledge. Take your last duel with Voldemort for example."_

Hermione by then had gotten rid of another dummy. The only dummy left had proven to be the tricky one out of the three. Hermione cast a curse at the dummy. It disappeared and appeared behind her. As it was about to cast a spell, she kicked it to the ground. Not only did Gwendolyn teach her how to do wandless and wordless attacks, she taught Hermione how to fight physically too.

"_One thing muggles did right was master the art of fighting physically. This is another advantage you can get while in battle. Not many wizards use this technique. Use it wisely."_

Hermione cast a curse while the dummy was on the ground. It disappeared. Hermione tucked her wand in her jeans pocket. _I think I got used to this wand well enough. Time to read some books while I wait for Gwendolyn. _She wiped her brow and exited the room.

She went in the library plopped on the couch. This was by far her favorite room. She had finished around half of the books in the library already. This library was larger and much more diverse then the Hogwarts library. The books here held even more information than most of the books in the restricted section!

She picked up the newspaper to see if anything new was on. The newspaper was charmed by Gwendolyn to display whatever news was put out on that specific day. She sighed. The only news was Voldemort taking over some village in Germany. She couldn't wait to defeat him.

Hermione had turned her sadness into anger. She used this feeling to motivate her every day. She wasn't going to defeat Voldemort for the glory. No, she was going to avenge everyone's deaths. She so badly wanted to get rid of Voldemort. His face was the target of her spells every single time she practiced casting them.

She put down the newspaper on the table and then grabbed her latest book and opened it to where her bookmark was. It was another book on Horcruxes.

As she flipped through the pages, she imagined what Voldemort's face would be like when she killed him. _Don't worry Harry, I'll finish what you started._

* * *

Draco Malfoy was just coming out of Twilfitt and Tatting's. His mother had requested him to pick up a new pair of robes. He had just paid for the robes and now he was heading towards the pub for a drink.

As he was walking, he spotted a mysterious light glowing in the distance. Curious, he started following it.

He kept on following the light till he got to the wall that separated the wizards from the muggles. Instead of seeing just a brick wall however, he saw that it had already been opened. _Did someone open this? Why didn't it close up?_

Draco carefully stepped out into the muggle world and looked around. He spotted the light again in the distance. He started following it again. _What is this light?_

He followed the light as he walked through the crowded streets. He felt disgusted as some muggles bumped into him as he walked. He tried to brush it off as he continued.

He followed the light till he got to an isolated path. _Where is this? Should I go in it? _Draco looked around and thought about it. _Who in the world would try to lead me to this filthy road? _He then shrugged and continued walking down the path.

Draco reached an ornate, black metal gate. _Hmmmm, maybe this isn't as unpleasant as I thought. _He found it open. _Should I go and see who this house belongs too? I don't even know who lives here… Why did that light lead me here? Let's just head back._

Draco turned around and started walking back to the beginning of the path. Just as he took a couple steps, he heard the squeak of a door opening. He turned around again and saw the front door of the house open.

_Bloody hell, that was weird. Was that on purpose? Should I go in?_

Draco pondered a bit till he decided to enter. _It's not like I can't handle anything. I'm Draco Malfoy for Merlin's sake._

He stepped through the gates and to the front door. As he stepped in the house, the door quietly closed. Draco turned and stared at the door. _Is this house alive?_

He shrugged. _This is the muggle world. Nothing can hurt me. _

He continued into the house and up the grand staircase. He started walking down the halls. No one seemed to be home. _Maybe they are out or on the other side of the house._

As he walked down the halls, he was impressed. The interior could rival his own home. It was very well decorated. He stared in awe at the paintings on the walls.

He soon reached a pair of huge doors. He decided to see what was behind them. He reached for the handles and pulled on them. The doors opened.

As he stepped in, he saw someone get up from the couch and start to turn around.

"Gwendolyn, I-"

Draco stared with wide eyes at the person in front of him. It was that mudblood Granger. _How the hell did she get here? She was under our noses this whole time? She isn't dead?_

Hermione stood there and was shocked. _How did Draco get in here? I thought this house was warded out of sight from everyone's eyes except those that were intended. Surely Gwendolyn didn't bring Draco here?_

Hermione was the first to break from her trance. She pulled out her wand and raised it at Draco.

"How did you get in here?" she harshly asked.

Draco hissed and pointed his wand at Hermione.

"That's none of your business _mudblood_. I should be asking you why you're here."

"If you don't see _ferret, _I live here. Hence the reason why you see me in this house."

Draco looked around skeptically. _This is Granger's home? I didn't know she was rich. This couldn't be her home. I refuse to believe it. _Draco scoffed.

"Sure Granger, you might as well call yourself a pureblood. Well, since I found you, I'm going to drag you back to Voldemort. He is going to reward me well for you. Do you know how crazy he's been trying to look for you?"

Draco stepped towards Hermione. Hermione stepped back and shook her wand again.

"You better leave Draco, you don't want to duel with me. Just go and pretend you never saw me. Please, it would be better for both of us."

Draco looked at the witch in her pleading eyes. He felt a little bad. _She has probably been living alone for a whole year. Too bad I have to bring her back to Voldemort. Maybe with her, he will finally leave my family alone. Besides, she is a mudblood. It won't matter about what happens to them._

Draco smirked and shook his head.

"Granger, I doubt you can overcome me. Just put down your wand and give up. It would save us both a bunch of time."

Hermione kept her wand pointing at him. Draco just let out a cold chuckle.

"Fine Granger, let's just quickly get on with this."

Draco wordlessly cast his first spell at Hermione. He was shocked when she wordlessly blocked it with her wand. He smirked. _Looks like the mudblood has been practicing her skills. _He started casting curses at her again.

Hermione was blocking Draco's curses. She was pleased to know her training had been useful. She could quickly identify most of the curses coming from Draco even though he wasn't saying anything. She was surprised though. _How does Draco know all these curses? Did Voldemort finally decide to teach his deatheaters something more than the killing curse?_

"Granger, you won't stand a chance with me. Why don't you just let this go? It would be better for both of us."

"What makes you think I can't stand a chance against you Malfoy? Surely your head hasn't been stuck up your arse that far?"

"I assure you that isn't the case. Haven't you heard Granger? I'm the Dark Lord's first in command. I'm basically his son. He has practically taught me most of everything he knows."

Hermione nervously swallowed. _I didn't see him as the type who would follow Voldemort like that. I thought he couldn't even kill Dumbledore._

They continued dueling each other. Spells were cast back and forth. Neither of them were struck by any of the spells. They were either blocked by a shield or thrust into the bookcases on the walls.

After a while, Hermione was struck in her arm. She cast a spell at Draco while she gripped her arm. Her spell hit him on the leg and made him topple over.

She continued gripping her arm as she leaned on a bookshelf. She tried healing her arm but the cut just continued bleeding some more.

"What did you hit me with?" Hermione panted out.

Draco lifted himself up against the bookcase and tried to heal his leg with the same result.

"I'm asking you the same question."

Hermione rolled her eyes and cast a paralyzing charm at Draco. He deflected it away as he tried to continue healing his leg.

"For Merlin's sake, why can't you just go away? I admit I don't like you but I don't want to harm you to the point of death! Trust me, that's where this duel will end if you don't stop."

"Do you think I'm doing this for fun?" he snarled. "I'm only attacking you because this would benefit me! I would rather leave you be in your misery but bringing you to Voldemort would get him to grant me any favor I wish for!"

"And what exactly is this favor may I ask? You're already loaded. And, you're his right hand man! What could you possibly need?"

"It's none of your business Granger. Just be quiet and wait for me to figure out this curse. After I heal myself, I'm going to take you to Voldemort."

Hermione got off of the bookshelf and started walking towards Draco across the book scattered floor.

"Like hell you are! Look here _ferret-"_

Before she could finish her sentence, the room started to shake. She fell to the ground while Draco protected his head from some of the falling books still on the bookshelves. Finally the tremors stopped.

Hermione picked herself up as Draco cursed. He used the bookshelf to lift himself up.

"What the hell was that Granger?"

"I don't know okay? Just calm down and get out."

"Oh I will, but not without dragging you with me. Let's go Granger."

Draco started limping towards Hermione with his wand pointed at her. Hermione backed away from him.

"Get away Malfoy!" Hermione waved her wand and sent a curse at him.

Draco blocked it away again. Hermione mentally cursed. _Damn it! Why in the bloody hell did Voldemort decide to teach Malfoy all these spells? I just want him to go away! Where is Gwendolyn for Merlin's sake?_

She didn't notice that Draco had backed her up into the couch until she fell on it. As she fell on it, she noticed something weird on the table. Her eyes went wide.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

Draco stopped and stared curiously as he watched the witch start to panic. _Hah, look at her! _He saw her drop her wand and pick up the newspaper. _What is she doing?_

"Granger, I hardly think this is the time for you to read a newspaper. Get up. Let's-"

Hermione started to hyperventilate. _No….. This isn't happening. What the hell is this?_ Her hands started shaking.

Draco was starting to get worried. _Why is she looking at the newspaper like that? I didn't see anything particularly interesting this morning._ He started slowly walking towards her.

"Granger, what's wrong with you? Why are you acting like that?"

Hermione continued staring at the front page. _I'm dreaming. I'm just dreaming. This can't be possible. _She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head violently trying to forget the image. She opened her eyes again and looked at the paper. She stopped breathing for a second.

On the paper read the date: _**August 30, 1944**_. Hermione looked up from the paper into Draco's curious, grey eyes. _How am I going to tell him that we traveled 54 years back into the past?_

* * *

**A/N: What do you guys think? Anything that confused you? Missing background information that you want to know? **

**I'm going to go into more detail on Draco's background in the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I admit I had a lot of fun writing it. **

**Until the next chapter! I'll be updating about every 2 weeks. It might take more or less time but it depends on my schedule. **

**I love feedback so please feel free to give me some. See you in two weeks!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own the universe of Harry Potter nor the characters within it. The only thing that is mine is the plot and the made up characters throughout the story.**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

_**August 30, 1944**_

Hermione couldn't believe what she was seeing. _This has to be a joke. There is no possible way for us to go back in time. Not even a time turner could do that!_

She kept on blinking, trying to see if what she was looking at was real. The newspaper didn't change. She stood there holding her breath. Could Gwendolyn have done this on purpose? Was the charm on the newspaper malfunctioning?

Draco stood there trying to get Hermione's attention. _Why is Granger looking at the newspaper like that? _He started heading towards her again.

"Granger, give me the newspaper."

Hermione's eyes went wide as she hid the paper behind her back. _He's probably going to not respond well to this. _She started walking backwards towards the trashcan.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Can you be more specific?"

"Clearly, I am talking about the one behind you. Now hand it over."

Hermione continued to go to the trashcan. As she reached it, she began to rip the newspaper. Just as she began to tear the paper, Draco reached behind her and snatched the newspaper away.

"Hey! Give that back! That doesn't belong to you!"

Draco just smirked and then started examining the paper.

"Let's see what our precious mudblood was looking at, shall we?"

He began to read the paper out loud.

"August 30, 1944: The Dark Lord takes over another village in Germany-"

As he kept on reading, Hermione inched towards the doors. She was going to go find Gwendolyn. She would have answers to the newspaper and Draco being there. _She better have a completely reasonable explanation for all of this._

After reading a couple lines of the article, Draco was confused. Why was Granger's reaction to this article so weird? It seemed perfectly normal. _Today's newspaper was on the Dark Lord conquering a German village. Why did Granger seem surprised? _

He finished the article but still couldn't figure out why Hermione reacted the way she did. _Does she have family in Germany? _He looked at the newspaper again. _Everything is the same as this morning. The title and date are the sa-_

He stopped. Did he look at the newspaper correctly? Did the date say _August 30, __**1944**_? His thoughts were bouncing back and forth in his head by then. Why was the year different? More importantly, why was she so shocked by it? Wasn't this just another paper from the library?

"Granger, why does this paper say it's from 1944?"

Hermione stopped right in front of the door as he said that. _What am I going to say? That we may have traveled back in time? That probably isn't even true! Ugh! I'm going to Gwendolyn. She better be somewhere in this house right now. _

She turned the handle as Draco limped towards her.

"Granger! I asked you a question! Explain this paper! Wait…..where are you going?"

Hermione turned her head around and rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to find answers ferret. Now shut up and go home."

Draco's face became red as he furiously shook the newspaper while pointing a finger at her. He quickened his pace towards her while wincing from the pain.

"Don't you dare open that door Granger! If you do, I will make you regret it! Stop now at once!"

Hermione ignored him and opened the door. As soon as she did, she gasped and backed up. Draco, who did not expect that, backed up with her. They both watched as Gwendolyn walked in through the door.

Hermione immediately got angry. _Now this woman walks in? Where was she for the past 30 minutes?_

"Gwendolyn! Where have you been? Why is _he _here?" Hermione berated. She snatched the newspaper out of Draco's hand and shook it in Gwendolyn's face. "Why is the newspaper like this?"

Draco stood there confused. Who was this woman? _Is she related to Granger? Why is she here? What does she have to do with this? _

Gwendolyn chuckled and then closed the door. She then made a gesture with her hands and then everything in the room went back to its normal place. She pointed at the couch and motioned for Draco and Hermione to sit down.

"Calm down my dear. How about both of you go sit down on the couch. This may take a while."

Hermione's temper rose some more.

"I'm not going to do anything you say until you give me an explanation! What in Merlin's sake is going on?"

Gwendolyn ignored her and started pushing them towards the couch. Hermione tried to resist but Gwendolyn held a firm enough grip on her injured arm that it would be painful to pull away. Draco, on the other hand, went along perfectly fine. He was still in a trance of being confused.

As they got to the couch, Hermione huffed and then sat down on one end. Draco sat down on the other end. Gwendolyn however, stayed standing.

She looked at the both of them and shook her head.

"I knew there was going to be some conflict but I didn't expect you both to actually end up harming each other! For heaven's sake children, grow up! I expected more from you."

Then she moved to Draco and started healing his leg. He winced. Hermione sat there and watched as she held in her temper. _So she meant for Draco to come here? What is she planning? This cannot be good…_

"You led him here didn't you?" Hermione accused. "Why would you do that? He's working for _him._"

"Calm down Hermione. You will be grateful one day for my actions. I'm sure that after working together for a while, you guys will start enjoying each other's company." Gwendolyn replied.

Draco lifted his head and looked at the two of them.

"Whoa, whoa there. Are you crazy? Have you been tortured by the Cruciatus curse for so long that you've gone mental? Who says that I was going to work together with you?"

Hermione looked at her astonished at what she just heard.

"I'm going to be working with _him?_ Why in the bloody hell would I be working with him? He's just as mentally crazed for pureblood supremacy as the rest of them! Does it even make sense that you would even consider him as helpful? Just look at the ferret!"

"Hey mudblood! Watch your mouth. Don't want that pretty tongue cut out do you?"

"Shut up Malfoy! Like your mouth is any better. If it was anyone getting their tongue cut off, it would be you."

"That's enough children!" Gwendolyn announced. She got up after finishing up on Draco's wound. She looked at the two of them and put her hands on her waist. "This is not a way anyone your age should act. Now, can we please focus on the subject at hand here?"

"And what may I ask is at hand here?" Draco asked.

"Yes, explain why this newspaper is like this? Did you take the charmed newspaper and replace it with an old one? Are you playing a trick? Is this charm just malfunctioning?" Hermione interrogated.

"Wait a minute, that newspaper is charmed? What is it charmed to do?" Draco interrupted.

Gwendolyn moved to Hermione to start working on her arm. She began talking as she did so.

"The newspaper is charmed to show what is on the Daily Prophet on a certain day. For example, if today was August 1st, 1998, the newspaper would show what was published on that exact day. What you saw wasn't a trick or a malfunction Hermione, it is an accurate date."

Hermione huffed in disbelief. "Are you saying we traveled back in time? Do you expect me to believe that? That's just a measly newspaper. Is this one of your lessons that you're setting up?"

"I'm not lying Hermione. This is the time period right now. I sent us back for a reason."

"How did you even send us back and what is your reason? What are you trying to accomplish? Surely this isn't part of your plan to eradicate Voldemort?"

Draco turned his head and his eyes widened. He got up and started pointing at the two women.

"Hold up! What are you trying to do? Get rid of the Dark Lord? Do you know what you're saying is treason? You both are going to be punished severely once he gets a load of this!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. Gwendolyn stared at Draco sternly and told him to sit down. Seeming, Draco sat down again. Gwendolyn started explaining again.

"It is actually my plan my dear. I have prepared you for the last year to be able to go up against the younger version of Voldemort. While you're skills have improved significantly, it still isn't as developed as the current older version of Voldemort. I figured you would have a better chance in the 1940's than in the future. Plus, you have Draco here who is also as talented as the younger version of Voldemort. The two of you against him would inspire instant victory!"

"Are you joking right now?" Hermione exclaimed. "Even if my skills aren't that developed, why couldn't I just train for a couple more years? And why would you drag Malfoy into this plan? He would be one of the least likeliest people to be helping us right now."

"The mudblood has one thing right. I'm definitely not helping you with your crazy plan." Draco added.

Gwendolyn finished with Hermione's arm and went to a nearby chair. She sat down and began talking again.

"Are you sure Draco? This would be a chance in a lifetime to escape your troubles. I've been watching you for a while and I doubt you want to be working under Voldemort."

Draco sat there and seethed at Gwendolyn. Did she read his mind or something?

"Unfortunately you don't know what you're talking about. I'm perfectly happy with my life right now."

"Are you sure Draco? You don't seem very happy. From what you said earlier to Hermione, my assumptions were correct."

"I don't need a meddling fool to be messing around with my life. I suggest you stay out of other people's business."

"Draco, I know what you're going through. I've experienced it too. You can't let him control you like that. If you do, your life will be miserable."

Hermione looked back and forth from Draco to Gwendolyn. _What are they talking about? Does this have to do with the favor Draco desperately wanted to receive by turning me in?_

"Don't you dare pretend to know what I'm going through. No one could possibly experience what I am right now."

Gwendolyn looked at him sympathetically and sighed.

"If you help us defeat him, your family will be safe Draco. He won't be able to blackmail you into doing whatever he wants. If you help us, you won't have to live in fear like everyone else. You would be doing a huge favor to everybody."

Draco shook his head angrily and got up.

"And what if it goes wrong? What will happen then? My family would be screwed! I don't know who you are trying to fool but don't give them false hope. If I did help and we end up failing, not only my head, but my family's heads would be chopped off."

Gwendolyn got up and put her hands on his shoulders.

"We won't fail Draco. I'll make sure of that. I promise."

Draco brushed her hands off of him.

"Look, whoever you are, I would appreciate it if you would leave me alone. I'm fine with the way I'm living. I don't need someone to come in and ruin it. Even if I am miserable, my family is safe and that's the way I like it."

Hermione got up and stared at Draco confused.

"Wait a minute Malfoy, are you saying that you are following him against your will? How did you manage to be his first in command then?"

Gwendolyn sadly looked at Draco.

"If you help us then you _**and**_ you're family can be safe and happy. Can't you think this over? Isn't this the better solution?"

Draco stood there with his fists clenched. Hermione thought that for a second, she saw through his façade and saw longing. _Holy Hippogriffs! Is he actually thinking on whether or not he should join? _

After a minute, Draco unclenched his fists. He stuck out his chin and began speaking his decision.

"I have to admit, you almost had me there. Unfortunately for you, I already thought of another solution. This one guarantees what I want without the risk. Sorry to disappoint."

Gwendolyn cocked up an eyebrow curiously.

"May I ask what this solution of yours is?"

Draco halfheartedly smiled. He went to Hermione and took hold of her arm. As he did, he cast some spell to prevent her from trying to escape.

"Come on Granger, we are heading to Voldemort."

Hermione was mortified. She glanced up to Gwendolyn as she tried to tug away from Draco.

"Gwendolyn…, make him stop. He's going to take me to him! I'm not ready yet, stop him!"

Gwendolyn shook her head and sighed.

"Draco, you do know that we are back in time right? I thought we already went over that."

Draco scoffed.

"Please, don't make me laugh. There is no way we went back in time. Nice meeting you."

He dragged Hermione to the door. As he did, Hermione continued struggling.

"Gwendolyn! Stop him!"

Instead of stopping them however, she followed them to the front of the house. As Draco dragged her through the gate, Gwendolyn waved at them.

"Since you're going out, stop by at a store and get me some beetle juice will you? I'm running out of it and I may need it for another potion!"

Hermione glanced at Gwendolyn in disbelief as Draco dragged them to Diagon Alley.

* * *

As Draco dragged Hermione through the streets of Muggle London, they were met with curious gazes of different people. All of them were dressed differently, even for muggles. Many of the ladies were wearing knee-long tea dresses while the men wore suits. Hermione was starting to believe what Gwendolyn said was true. Everything seemed older like they had went a couple decades in the past.

"Malfoy, can you let me go? Your grip is getting too tight."

Draco just ignored her and kept walking. Hermione wasn't sure if he noticed the changes in everything around them. _He's probably thinking about our conversation earlier._

They kept on walking through the streets till they got to the wall. Draco pushed the specific bricks and the wall opened up. He pulled them through and out they walked into the streets of Diagon Alley.

Major changes could also be seen in the wizarding world too. For one thing, there were many more wizards wearing robes. All the shops around them looked newer and less worn out. There were even some shops that haven't opened yet or were gone from the last time Hermione remembered.

Draco seemed to have noticed his surroundings by then. He looked around with a befuddled gaze trying to figure out what he was seeing. So far, he wasn't liking his conclusion.

"Granger, why in the bloody hell does everything look like this?"

Hermione meekly looked at him and squeaked out.

"You mean they didn't make any new renovations to this area after the war?"

"Last time I checked, the windows of every shop were still boarded up. Not even a mouse could be seen. I hardly doubt that this crowd in the streets are a sign of victory against the Dark Lord."

Draco frantically looked around the street, looking for a sign of anything that could explain their situation.

"You don't think Gwendolyn was telling the truth about going back in time do you?" Hermione pondered.

Draco ignored her and caught sight of a newspaper stand selling the Daily Prophet. He marched over there, tugging Hermione with him.

"Hey! Be careful ferret!"

At the stand was a young boy who looked like he was around eight or nine years old. He was wearing a worn out cap and some very untidy clothing. Waving a roll of newspaper around, he shouted to the crowd, "Get your copy of the Daily Prophet! Grindlewald has taken over another German village!"

Hermione looked at Draco in surprise. _Did that boy say Grindlewald? Didn't Grindlewald already die?_

Draco, not believing what he was hearing, grabbed a galleon from his pockets and tossed it to the boy. He then snatched the newspaper up and stared at the date. The boy tugged on his arm to give him back his leftover change but he ignored and shrugged the boy away. He was too occupied with what he saw.

On the newspaper, he read the same exact thing as he did in the library. _No, this is not happening. This is not possible at all._ He started snatching up the other newspapers, hoping that the other ones would show a different date. Unfortunately, none of them did.

Hermione stood there watching Draco. _What in the world is he doing? It can't be because the newspaper's show the same thing as in the library could it? _

She grabbed one of the fallen newspapers and stared at the cover. It was exactly the same. She sighed in relief. _Now ferret can't take me to Voldemort! _By now, Hermione had already had enough hyperventilating from the news so she just stood there and watched as Draco started tugging at his hair.

"How did that woman bring us back Granger? Why in Merlin's name would you drag me into this?"

He dropped the spells on her and started pacing back and forth. Many eyes fell on him because he was acting out. Hermione blushed at the attention they both were receiving.

"How am I going to get my favor? Why would you do this to me? Do you know how long I had waited for this?"

Hermione put a hand over his arm and dragged him into an empty shop.

"Shut up Malfoy! Do you know how crazy you were acting back there? Do you want to get sent to an asylum? This is not how you should be acting in front of everyone! Get it together!"

Draco turned around and stared at Hermione incredulously.

"And pray tell, how am I supposed to act? I hardly think that I should be prancing around in a meadow with puppies and rainbows. If you didn't know already, we **traveled back in time!**"

After yelling this, Draco went back to pacing back and forth.

Hermione took a deep breath to calm herself down. She still had a hard time believing it but there was evidence that they did go back in time. _What's going to happen now? Will I stay in this time and defeat Voldemort? Is Malfoy stuck helping me? Will I ever go back?_

She looked over to Draco and mentally stabbed herself. _Why in the world would Gwendolyn choose him? He's a pain in the arse and I don't think I'm going to get anywhere with him. Explain to me how we are going to be working together again?_

After a couple moments, Draco calmed down and turned back to Hermione.

"What are we going to do now?

Hermione looked at him and shrugged.

"Well now we know for sure that turning me into Voldemort is out of the question."

Draco gave her a non-appreciative look and started pacing again.

"Can Gwendolyn take us back to the future?"

"Why? So you can bring me to Voldemort? I rather not."

"Fine, just me then?"

"I don't know. You would have to ask her. But she did seem very persistent on you staying here."

Draco stopped and stared at her for a while. Then he grabbed her arm and headed towards the door.

"We're going back to her to sort this out."

"For goodness sakes Malfoy, can you let go of me? I'm not a mutt that you can drag around! I'm going to come with you anyways."

Draco huffed and let go of her arm as he continued on to the road.

As they traveled down the streets, Hermione pondered on the situation at hand. _Can Gwendolyn let him go back to the future? Will she do it? What if we are stuck here for good?_

They walked for a while until they both reached the entrance to the house. As they entered the home, Gwendolyn stood there waiting for them.

She clapped her hands and stared at them intently.

"So? How was your trip into the new world?"

Draco stepped forward and began questioning her.

"Can you take me back to the future? I promise I will forget everything I saw and neglect anything that comes into the subject of you guys."

Gwendolyn shook her head and shrugged.

"I don't know. Can I? I may be able to, and I may not. The thing is, I don't want to. Are you in or not?"

"If I don't help you guys out, what will happen to me?"

"Well, I guess you're on your own in 1944 until Hermione completes the mission. It may take longer though since you aren't helping her…."

Draco looked to the ceiling and sighed in exasperation. He threw his hands in the air.

"Why can't you just leave me be?"

"The wizarding world needs you, doing this won't bring you any harm at all. The older dark lord is in the future and that isn't going anywhere any time soon. What do you say? Will you help us?"

Draco dramatically sighed and looked back down to Gwendolyn.

"Do I even have a choice?"

Gwendolyn's smile widened as she shrugged.

"If you want some extra time, you can take the rest of the day to get used to this situation. Tomorrow, we are going right in to preparing you guys for what's in store. Your room is the third one on the left of the middle hallway on the second floor."

Draco rolled his eyes and stomped up the stairs towards his newly assigned room.

Hermione stood there as she watched the scene play out. She could barely believe that Malfoy decided to cooperate. _Merlin's pants, Malfoy is living in the same house as me? Can this day get any worse? What's in store for me now?_

She slumped up the stairs as she walked up to her room. _Please, don't toss anything new at me anymore. I don't think I can take it. _

As she put her hand on the handle to her door, Gwendolyn decided to chirp a message in.

"Remember kids, be down at 6 for dinner!"

Hermione mentally face palmed herself while she banged her head against the door.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! Yeah, I know. I'm posting this chapter after about a month and a half. I feel terrible! But, I will try to make it up to you guys sometime soon. I don't know if I can post extra chapters this month since school is getting a bit hectic. Exams and studying are kind of my first priorities right now so just bear with me for about three months. **

**Thank you to Tomriddlexoxo, Elaina. Amboni, Varee, Nivellia Neil, Fspsarcastic, and all my other guest reviewers! Your input made me really happy and gave me some extra inspiration to continue writing my story. I would like to also thank those who gave me ideas and some criticism. I took some of them to heart and I hope you will continue to give me your input.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you feel like something didn't make sense, please feel free to tell me. Hopefully, I'll see you guys soon!**


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